Amtrak's Blue Water Line to Chicago through Genesee County experiences drop in passengers

Riders exit the Blue Water Line in Flint. The Blue Water line is an Amtrak train that runs from St. Clair County to Chicago. It, along with other Amtrak lines, are reporting increased numbers in ridership since 2005.
Sammy Jo Hester | MLive.com

GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Ridership for the Amtrak line that runs through Genesee County on its way to Chicago has taken a hit since the start of 2013.

Ridership for the Blue Water Line running from Port Huron to Chicago dropped by 3.1 percent, going from 89,190 passengers during the first six months of its 2012 fiscal year to 86,408 in 2013. The fiscal year for Amtrak starts in October.

Between January and March of this year, ridership has fallen by 2.8 percent compared to the same time in 2012, going from 17,618 to 17,129 passengers.

"It's something we are looking at," said Marc Magliari, spokesman for Amtrak. "We look at the numbers every month and we are keeping an eye on that and we are about to go into the busier summer travel season ,so we will see how that goes."

Ridership for the Blue Water Line last year experienced continued growth from the previous years, recording 189,193 passengers for 2012, up from 187,065 people in 2011 and 157,709 in 2010.

The Flint station has also reported increases from previous years, reporting 37,764 passengers in October 2012, up from 37,557 in 2011 and 30,267 in 2010.

"We are looking at these numbers and talking to (the Michigan Department of Transportation) about them," he said, adding that winter storms hitting the region late in the season may have impacted travel. "We had a fairly bumpy end to winter for travel,